Happily Never After (A Snow White Story) (ON-HOLD)

Chapter 6: Who is she?

"Yes, missing," she confirmed. "It was about four or three years ago when you went missing."

I was confused beyond comprehension. "Can you tell me the whole story, Aria? About me, about who I am. I know this sounds weird but right now, I'm lost and I need to find myself." I looked at her intently with begging eyes. "You're my only hope." Those were some deep words. I've never thought and said such deep words but I really needed answers.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, Snow, but I will tell you want you want to know. What kind of friend am I if I don't help you? I'm your best friend, after all," she said, then smiled.

I smiled back. "Thank you."

"So, where do I start?"

"Let's start with where I am from, who I am. You know; the basics."

"Okay, so your name is Snow Andromeda Cornelia Liana Ava White."

"That's my full name?!"

"Yes. The king gave it to you."

"The king?"

"Yes, the king, you're father."

"My father is a king?! Then that means..."

"You're a princess, Snow," she confirmed what I thought. "So when you disappeared, it became a very big deal."

For the rest of the night, Aria explained to me everything. Well, maybe not everything but what she said was enough for me to get the gist of things. Everything seemed bizarre at first but I learned to accept what she was saying because as fiction as they sounded, it all seemed true.

Apparently, I was a princess from the kingdom of Eidelveiss. The king was my father but I didn't have any mother because, unfortunately, she died giving birth to me. However, when I was about three or four years old, my father met a royal-born lady from another kingdom to which he married. She became my stepmother.

"Let me guess. Her name is Evita," I told Aria. I remembered Celeste saying that Queen Evita was my stepmother.

"Right! See, you know things about yourself," she confirmed. "You, actually, didn't like her but you had to live with her so you had no choice but to learn to like her."

She continued her story telling. Four years ago, on my sixteenth birthday, a ball was held. It all seemed good but the next day, I went missing. Being the princess, everybody grieved my disappearance. Some months later, Aria decided to look for me but she found herself lost in the woods. She ended up here in the house of the three bears.

"Why didn't you return to Eidelveiss?" I asked her.

"Honestly, I don't know. Of course at first, I was scared because they are still bears but I felt happier here," she answered, her eyes starting to water. "I mean, when you disappeared, it felt like I lost a sister. You were my best friend, and when you left, it was like a part of me had gone too." Then, she broke down and cried in front of me.

I didn't know what to do. I thought I had the big problem because I was suddenly dropped here from the sky, feeling different, wearing a dress that I didn't know I was wearing, but it seemed like Aria had a bigger emotional scar than me. I hugged her to try to comfort her. "I'm here, Aria. I am now here."

I spent the night in her room because she wouldn't stop crying. I felt guilty because deep in my heart, I knew I was a part of her emotional breakdown. I had a hard time sleeping because my mind was in clockwork. Every thought and possibility about my life was rushing in and out of my head.

Eventually, I succumbed to the works of the sandman. I found myself asleep... and then dreaming.

The dream, or nightmare, started by re-enacting the moments of the past night. However, instead of experiencing the "battle", I was, sort of, watching. I was a few meters above the rooftop of Seven's house. Somehow, my fear of heights didn't kick in. Finally, I was able to see everything that transpired.